Against the backdrop of turbulent times, a group of women is forced to confront the limits of their social roles. In the wake of the profound impact of World War I, a generation of women emerged who entered the workforce, transformed the way they dressed and interacted with others, and claimed a new place in the public sphere. This is the story told by the artistic production“Las Hijas del Jazz.”
Omar Ayyashi’s exhibition“Las Hijas del Jazz”is being presented as part of the 40th edition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival, which—in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID)—pays tribute to the women of the 20th and 21st centuries who dared to rebuild a more just and equal world.
The exhibition’s opening took place in the main lobby of the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore at the “Juan José Arreola” Jalisco State Public Library, which is celebrating its seventh anniversary, and was attended by the president of the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG), Guillermo Gomez Mata, who thanked the officials present at the event, the Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
“This collaboration,” says José Trinidad López Padilla López, “symbolizes the union of two worlds deeply committed to culture, cinema, the written word, memory, the present, artistic creation, and free thought.”
Verónica Mendoza, director of the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore, thanked the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) for allowing“Las Hijas del Jazz”to be hosted at its venue and for continuing to promote the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore as a space for synergy and cultural encounters.
Omar Ayyashi was also in attendance; he shared with the audience a bit about the two years of work he put into the exhibition and how he sees it not merely as an exhibition, but rather as a tribute to all women—from “Las sin sombrero” in Spain to the women of the 21st century.
“‘Las Hijas del Jazz’ wascreated as a tribute—both in spirit and in sound—to the women who, amid wars, social dictatorships, and oppression, found their voices, their bodies, and their ideas. They did so from the margins, from their ‘trenches,’ from the screen—some known by name and many without—but all indispensable,” Ayyashi shares.
The exhibition features 36 photographs of women such as Cecilia Suarez, Clara Galle, and Victoria Luengo, who lend their names, voices, and faces to those women who did not have them, taking the public on a journey through a century of rebellion with figures such as María Zambrano, María Teresa León, and Gabriela Mistral. Each photograph includes a QR code that allows viewers to listen to the women’s voices on their devices as they recite excerpts, love letters, or poems. The exhibition will be on display in the gallery of the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore at the “Juan José Arreola” Jalisco State Public Library and will be open to the public from June 6 through July 30.
Location: Carlos Fuentes Bookstore at the “Juan José Arreola” Jalisco State Public Library
Date: June 6 through July 30